I Wake to You
by reyoflight
Summary: Rey wakes from a dream to find Ben Solo sitting on her cot. Reylo. Post-TLJ. Possible two-shot.


_Rey was dreaming. She stood with her back straight, body alert, on the shore of a rocky sea. The fog was dark and heavy around her, but the roar of the waves was gone. A soft lapping sounded beneath her. She looked down, and was surprised to see her bootless feet submerged in the water, pressing down on pebbles._

 _A whisper, an echo. It was all around her, and nowhere at all. The hairs on Rey's arms rose in alarm, and she reflexively poised her hand to her hip. Staff, saber, anything. Her hand brushed the fabric on her tunic. She was weaponless, and she could see nothing through the fog, neither behind or ahead._

" _Hello?" she called, eyes darting around the damp and dim space._

 _The whisper sounded again, indistinguishable but real. It called to her, beckoned her forward. Rey took a deep breath, curling her hands into fists in case she needed to strike quickly. She could not remain in one spot forever; the seawater splashed as she lifted her foot and began to walk forward._

 _The fog thinned as she moved, and the air lost its wetness. She could see large rocks jutting out of the sand, then greater stretches of water, and eventually a brighter daylight. The whisper was stronger, but she couldn't make out the words or the language. Rey began to walk faster, dragging water against her knees, until the sun was full and the horizon was clear and vast before her eyes. Ahch-To._

 _There was no mistaking the whisper this time. Rey could feel lips brush against her ear, breath against her face. "You're not alone."_

Rey shot awake, breathing heavily. Her heart was thrumming with the word, _Ben, Ben, Ben!_ She sat up, pushing her blanket down to her waistline, and gave a final sigh. She rubbed one hand over her eyes, trying desperately to steady the feelings of surprise and longing. Seconds passed as she sat in the dark, and the longing magnified, growing to a degree that threatened to overwhelm her. These couldn't possibly be her feelings alone…

Rey jumped, seeing his figure sitting on the side of her cot, his back to her. He was clad in all black, blending in with the deep shadows of her room. This wasn't the first time she had seen him since their fight on Crait. The connections they had following Snoke's death were full of anger, yelling, and deep hurt. Rey would never admit it to him, but she cried every time their connection severed; silent tears that ran like dwindling hope. She was furious, she was suffering, she had never hated anyone so much in her life, and then…

Ben turned to look at her. His eyes locked with hers, and the feelings of longing exploded, his emotions mirroring hers. He turned his body to her, and she to him. Their hands were both perched on the bed, inches apart.

"You were dreaming?" he whispered.

Rey startled upon hearing his voice. She could feel heat creeping into her face and was glad for the darkness. She wished his voice was closer, missed the feel of his mouth ghosting against her ear.

"Yeah," she replied. Her hand slowly, absently, stroked the thin blanket up and down.

Ben hesitated only a moment. "Was I in your dream?"

Rey's breath caught, but she fought to otherwise remain impassive. "Perhaps."

He leaned in, just enough, his leather tunic creaking as he twisted. "Tell me about it," he whispered, and his dark eyes swallowed her. The intensity in his face made a shiver run through her.

Rey swallowed, and tried to shrug indifferently. "We were on the island together."

"Ah. And we were… what? Enjoying the force bond Snoke so masterfully created?"

Rey couldn't' help the small smile that played on her lips. "Snoke didn't create our bond," she told him matter-of-factly. Kylo's brow creased, and he leaned in, just a small bit.

"That's not possible."

Rey continued as if she hadn't heard him. "I don't know how long we've been connected, but… when my parents abandoned me, the loneliness and fear I felt… it was awful, Ben. I was so young, and I had no one. That's when I started dreaming. At night, desperate to sleep…" She gave him a meaningful look, and saw his lips press together. "I saw an ocean. The same one you saw when you interrogated me. It wasn't a random ocean; it was a real, specific location. Always the same one. The same sea, the same rocks, the same land. It was Luke's island." Rey's speech took on speed now. She looked away from him, instead staring at the weathered blanket covering her legs, and spoke almost excitedly. "I had never, ever seen an ocean, Ben. Not even a picture. All I had ever known was the dry desert. But this island came to me every night, and it calmed me, and it gave me something to look forward to. So when I arrived at Ahch-To, I thought my whole life had been leading up to that moment. I thought I would find Luke, and everything would fall into place. But he cast me off as quickly as everyone else, and I felt so uncertain. I was alone again… until you." Rey glanced back up at him, only to find him staring at her with open surprise. "Our hands touched," she continued, "and I realized something."

"What did you realize?" he asked, his quiet voice tinged with desperation.

"That my whole life had been leading up to…" her voiced dropped to a whisper. When did he get so close? She could feel his breath on her face, and the memory of his mouth against her ear made her hands start to shake. She clutched the side of the cot with one hand, and a fistful of blanket with the other.

" _Us,"_ he finished for her. Her breath hitched to hear it out loud, to hear it from him, but before she could think he had pressed his mouth to hers. Rey let out a muffled cry, trying to steady herself on her shaking hands. His lips moved against her, soft and parted and perfect. Ben moaned, catching her bottom lip between his and sucking possessively. She heard him rip his gloves off, felt one hand grab the side of her face, the other on her hip. For a moment he was slow and soft, but it built and built until the passion was overwhelming, and Rey pushed herself up, releasing the cot and grabbing him around his shoulders. His breathing became ragged, his tongue slid against hers. His hands trailed everywhere, and she tried to mirror him. Oh, she had wanted this. She had never kissed anyone before, but her desire to be close to Ben Solo was unbearable at times. She hardly knew what she wanted, but now she could put a name to it. _This. Him. Forever._

He was kissing her with an unstable fervor. How long had he wanted this?

"From the moment I first saw you in the forest," he murmured breathlessly, and began trailing kisses down her neck. "I have always wanted you." Rey closed her eyes, relishing in the emotion pouring off of him, his words making her heart pound wildly. "I will _never_ stop wanting you."

"Ben—" Rey couldn't stop it, she began to cry. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. No one had ever suggested being a permanent part of her life.

"Ben, wait," she gently pushed against his chest, but remained against him, her face inches from his. He leaned his forehead against hers briefly, steadying himself, before pulling back. Her eyes looked into his, and the feeling of love was like a lightning bolt, jolting them both where they sat, connecting them like an invisible line that shot from heart to heart. Rey had never felt anything like it, never known such warmth or rightness. She closed her eyes, her arms still wrapped around him, tears flowing freely as she pressed the side of her face to his.

This was what had tethered her to her anger for so long—the lack of love, the need for him that always ended in bitter disappointment. Yet now that she had him, those heated feelings dissipated, and the amount of love she had for this broken man—this supreme leader of the universe—ran like an electric current through her veins, projecting an aura of devotion around her frame. Rey wondered, as she breathed in his scent and felt the scratch of his cheek against hers, if it was the same for him.

She almost apologized for the wetness of her tears when she heard a noise leave him that cut her heart, a quiet, choked sob, and then another.

He was trying so hard to control himself; she could feel the strain, the dam holding back the strength of his emotions. "I don't want this to end," Rey offered. "I wish you were really here."

His response was immediate, desperate. "Come to me."

Rey frowned, but she didn't pull away from him. "You know I can't."

Ben removed both his bare hands to hold hers. "No conditions this time. I won't ask anything of you. Just come to me. If you want to leave the moment you arrive… I will let you."

Rey paused. If she didn't go with him now, she may never have another opportunity to see him outside the battlefield. Could she even lift a saber against him now? And what if… what if she brought him home?

Him. Her. _Home._

 _Home. Home. Home._

"Tell me your coordinates."


End file.
